Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. The stock had previously closed at $44.94, but opened at $43.28. The Goldman Sachs Group now has a $51.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $99.00. Moderna shares last traded at $44.10, with a volume of 2,069,840 shares traded.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MRNA. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Moderna from $70.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Moderna from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Moderna from $59.00 to $45.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $69.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Moderna in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Argus lowered Moderna from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moderna has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.26.

Insider Transactions at Moderna

In related news, insider Shannon Thyme Klinger sold 1,418 shares of Moderna stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total value of $60,676.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,690.43. The trade was a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,664 shares of company stock valued at $115,210. 15.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC grew its stake in Moderna by 91.1% in the third quarter. Intrinsic Value Partners LLC now owns 51,392 shares of the company's stock worth $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 24,505 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in Moderna during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,550,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Moderna by 341.3% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 49,650 shares of the company's stock worth $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 38,400 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moderna by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,614,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,885,000 after acquiring an additional 167,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Moderna by 148.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 116,088 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,758,000 after acquiring an additional 69,313 shares in the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moderna Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.05 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.87 and a 200-day moving average of $62.03. The company has a quick ratio of 4.20, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.89) by $1.92. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.39) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.27 EPS for the current year.

About Moderna

Moderna, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its respiratory vaccines include COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, spikevax, and hMPV/PIV3 vaccines; latent vaccines comprise cytomegalovirus, epstein-barr virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines; public health vaccines consists of Zika, Nipah, Mpox vaccines; and infectious diseases vaccines, such as lyme and norovirus vaccines.